While most of the rivers that rapidly rose – some to record levels – over the weekend have since crested and slowly begun to recede, six gauge locations in the state indicate a major flood remains in progress. More than 1,000 homes have been flooded in Baton Rouge, and 20,000 people have been rescued from their homes. The Louisiana Governor’s Mansion has been evacuated.

Through 11 a.m. ET Tuesday, six Louisiana sites had received more than 2 feet of rain since Aug. 9. Watson, La., leads that list with 31.39 inches. Another 14 sites in the state had between 1 and 2 feet of rain.

An increase in heavy rain events is a prime indicator of climate change. According the National Climate Assessment, released in 2014, the Southeast has had a 27 percent increase in the amount of precipitation falling in the heaviest events since the late 1950s. A report earlier this month from the EPA indicated that nine of the top 10 years for extreme one-day precipitation events in the contiguous U.S. have occurred since 1990.

The reason rising temperatures lead to more extreme rainfalls is because a warmer atmosphere coupled with warmer ocean water leads to more evaporation. This means more water is available in a storm system, potentially making for heavier precipitation.

Globally, sea surface temperature has been consistently higher during the past three decades than at any other time since reliable observations began in 1880. In recent weeks, surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico have been particularly high, around 90°F (32°C), which is 2°-4°F (1-2°C) above average for this time of year.

More rain is in store this week in Louisiana, though the heaviest rain is expected to shift northwestward toward Arkansas and eastern Texas. Several inches of rain are forecast in those areas.

Record-breaking rain across Texas and Oklahoma this week caused widespread flooding, the likes of which the region has rarely, if ever, seen. For seven locations there, May 2015 has seen the most rain of any month ever recorded, with five days to go and the rain still coming. While rainfall in the region is consistent with the emerging El Niño, the

The streets of Ellicott City, Md., became raging rivers on Saturday, with cars tossed around like toy boats after nearly 6 inches of rain fell in just two hours. Rainfall that intense is a 1-in-1,000 year event for the area, according to the National Weather Service. While downpours that intense are rare, heavy rainfall events have been on the

Inland flooding, or the flooding of streams, creeks and rivers, is related to water runoff and depends on many factors in addition to rainfall amounts. Soil saturation, topography, land use and the placement of levees and dams all play a role in how water runs off into bodies of water.

Heavy downpours and flash flooding events continue to increase in different areas of the United States. These specific type of events have increased between 10 to 40 percent in the Mid-South since 1958. (Kentucky, 16 percent; Tennessee, 14 percent; Missouri, 38 percent and Illinois, 12 percent.) We don't have to look back too far in the records